


experimental film

by paopuleaf



Series: and they were roommates (oh my god they were roommates) [1]
Category: Half Life VR But The AI Is Self Aware
Genre: Cats, Fluff, Gen, Post-Canon, Roommates, little a pre-relationship frenrey. but it can be read as platonic, nonbinary benrey. they/themrey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-10
Updated: 2020-05-10
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:34:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24102949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paopuleaf/pseuds/paopuleaf
Summary: Fuck, we're keeping the cat, aren't we.In which Benrey adopts a cat, and unfortunately, that's Gordon's problem to deal with.
Relationships: Benrey & Gordon Freeman, Benrey & Tommy Coolatta, Tommy Coolatta & Gordon Freeman
Series: and they were roommates (oh my god they were roommates) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1739020
Comments: 12
Kudos: 348





	experimental film

“Where the fuck did the cat come from, Benrey?”

Gordon was doing… okay, all things considered. When the “things considered” were the rest of the Science Team and Benrey coming alive outside of the game, well! It was complicated, but he was doing  _ fine.  _ It didn’t matter that the rest of the Science Team had already found housing and he was stuck with Benrey alone most of the time. 

Except it does matter, a little bit, because Benrey’s lying on his couch with a fucking  _ cat  _ in their lap and Gordon has no idea how to handle pets. 

“I dunno. I found ‘em outside, they’re kinda cute,” Benrey says, petting the cat. “Their name’s Nariko.”

“Do you even know how to take care of a cat?” Gordon protests, but Nariko is kinda cute, and he feels his resolve slipping a little bit. 

Benrey hums, looking… almost thoughtful at that. “Mm. Bet Tommy knows how, he’ll help out. Plus, Google.”

“That’s- huh.”  _ Shit. Good point. Joshua isn’t allergic, right? I’ll call Mari later to double-chec- fuck, we’re keeping the cat, aren’t we.  _ “Fine, alright, Nariko can stay. Whatever. You’re coming with me to buy everything later.”

Benrey just shrugs, attention completely focused on the cat. Gordon sighs, heading for the computer to look at his bank account. Another roommate. God.

-

“Tooooommy. Tommy.” Benrey calls from down the stairs, their hands cupped around their mouth. Tommy peers out from the landing of the apartment, waving.

“Hi Benrey! Hi Mr. Freeman!” Sunkist barks from next to him, and he laughs. “Sunkist is happy to see you guys! What’s up?”

Gordon sighs. “We got a cat, and we know you take good care of Sunkist, so-  _ holy fuck- _ ” He’s cut off by Sunkist barreling into him, no longer a JPEG in the real world, but a Very Real and Very  _ Heavy  _ golden retriever. They both tumble to the ground in a heap, Gordon laughing as Sunkist licks his face. “Su- Sunkist, stop it! Down, c’mooon- ha-” 

“Sunkist!” Tommy rushes down the stairs, patting his legs until Sunkist gets off Gordon to sit by his side. “Good boy! Sorry, Mr. Freeman!”

Benrey snorts, offering a hand to help Gordon up. “It’s- it’s okay, Tommy. Sunkist’s a fucking blessing,” he says, taking the hand to stand.

“We got a cat and we need your help, bro,” Benrey interjects. They vanish for a moment before coming back, the cat peeking out of their hoodie. Gordon doesn’t even have it in him to be surprised, really. “This is Nariko.” 

Tommy’s eyes widen, and he reaches out to give her a pat on the head. “She’s very good! I’d recommend going to Petsco, you should get her some food, a bed, and… right! A litter box. Since she’s not a kitten, she’s probably already trained to at least use a box, so you shouldn’t have to worry about that! Also, get her wet food, since dry food can actually make her feel worse than wet food! Dry food is only really good for a snack.” 

Sunkist barks, and Nariko hisses before scrambling out of the hoodie and curling up around Benrey’s shoulders. They freeze, expression blanking before they reach up and grab her. “Aw, you scared? Scaredy cat. C’mon, Feetman over here can do all the shopping.” 

“Wait, what-”

Benrey shoots him and Tommy a peace sign with their free hand before vanishing again, presumably back to the house. Gordon groans, before turning back to Tommy. “Thanks, Tommy, I- I really appreciate the help. I’m gonna track down this asshole n’ then I’ll see you later, alright?”

“Sure, Mr. Freeman! Take care!”

Gordon heads off back towards the house, shoving his hands into his pockets with a huff. He keeps repeating the list mentally in his head as he unlocks the door, not even bothering to kick off his shoes as he heads over to the nearest sticky note and begins scribbling. “Food, litter box, bed- probably a food and water bowl too- Benrey!”

“Huh?” Benrey pokes their head out of their room down the hallway, Nariko still curled up in their arms. “Nariko n’ I are busy, dude.”

“ _ Nariko _ can handle herself for a little bit while  _ we  _ go to Petsco,” Gordon says, folding the sticky note and shoving it into his pocket. “You named her, so I figured you would want to pick out her stuff or some shit like that.”

“That’s pretty sweet of you, bro.”

“What?”

“Huh? What?” Benrey sets down Nariko, letting her run off to somewhere in the house before they walk over. “What are you waiting for? Let’s go.” They open the door and head outside, leaving Gordon to follow behind with a sigh. 

Benrey waits for them at the end of the sidewalk, grabbing his hand; not too tight that Gordon couldn’t pull away if he want to, which was… appreciated. “What- why?”

“Real epic gamers don’t take the bus,” Benrey says simply, which… explains exactly nothing until the ground under Gordon’s feet vanishes. He yelps, closing his eyes as he falls- and then there’s solid ground again. When he opens his eyes, they’re at the Petsco. Of course. 

He shudders, pulling his hand away to cover his mouth. “That- a little warning next time, you dick.” Gordon leans over to compose himself, focusing on his shoes until the concrete of the parking lot stopped spinning. Someone’s rubbing circles into their shoulder- Benrey? When he leans back, it’s gone, and their hands are shoved into their hoodie. Maybe he imagined it.

The Petsco is mostly empty, a few customers and employees walking around. Gordon finds the cat section easily, Benrey lagging behind as their gaze catches on the fish. “We can’t get a fish, Nariko might eat them.”

“I know that,” Benrey says, shaking their head slightly and catching up. They pick up a fluffy cat bed and toss it to Gordon, snickering when it smacks him in the back of the head and falls to the ground. 

“Christ.” Gordon picks up the cat bed and holds it, realizing a little too late that he forgot to grab a cart. “You gonna help me carry anything or are you just gonna keep throwing shit at me when I’m not looking?” Benrey shrugs, and he sighs.  _ Better than no, I guess. _

They pick up a box of wet food and a bag of dry food, Gordon biting his lip as he carefully keeps it balanced in his arms. After the second time the pile falls to the ground some way or another, Benrey vanishes, coming back with a cart and a deadpan expression. 

“Litter box, litter, food bowl, check.” Gordon leans over the cart as they finish up, tapping each item as he logs it. “I think we’re ready to- Benrey?” He looks around, but they’re nowhere in sight, which is… a little concerning. “C’mon, dude, we gotta get back to Nariko.”

Silence, before Benrey appears with a handful of cat toys and a collar, nametag and bell attached. Gordon blinks, but they say nothing as they drop the heap into the cart. 

His wallet is not going to be very happy after this, is it.

Check-out, then outside again. “You good with porting again, man?”

“You’re asking?”

Benrey shrugs, lifting their arm until the bag in their hand slides down to their elbow before holding out the now empty hand. “You looked a bit shit last time. Don’t want you throwing up in the yard when we get there.” 

Gordon huffs, but slides his own bags over and takes their hand. “Fuck it. Let’s just go for it.”

They shoot him a grin, before they’re both falling again. This time, it doesn’t feel as terrifying, somehow. 

**Author's Note:**

> i cried at least two times writing this and there isn't even any angst in it !   
> this takes place in a post-game au in which the characters are mostly human with a little bit of fuckery left over. case in point: benrey teleports
> 
> anyway you can find me on both twitter [@[mxcatboy](https://twitter.com/mxcatboy)] and tumblr [@[rylron](https://rylron.tumblr.com/)] ! or come yell at me in the hlvrai server [here](https://discord.gg/JxwXbNu)


End file.
